Vegetarian Mushroom and Cabbage Paprikash with Caraway Dumplings
Paprikash–a paprika sauce-based dish–is one of Hungary’s most famous foods and is traditionally made with chicken. Some people might say you can’t make “chicken paprikash” with no chicken. Well, I never let not having or not wanting the main ingredient stop me! Sure, my version ends up being more “loosely based on true events” rather than it is a documentary, but that’s okay. It happens a lot when you’re a vegetarian who loves trying new things and experimenting.
The first time I went to Hungary, I was not a vegetarian yet. I was traveling solo for the first time and Budapest was my first stop; I absolutely fell in love with the city and it remains one of my favorite places in the world. I traveled all around central and eastern Europe and loved everywhere I went. And even though I wasn’t a vegetarian then, I have never been a big fan of meat, so I wasn’t really expecting to love the food. Central and eastern Europe have some pretty famously meaty cuisines which didn’t interest me, but I was surprised by how many dishes I found that were delicious and not too meat-oriented.
Of course, chicken paprikash is pretty meat-centered. But the real star is paprika, that most Hungarian of spices. It’s supposed to be made with Hungarian paprika, but non-Moroccan, non-French foods can be hard to to find here in Morocco. Luckily, Moroccan paprika is readily available and pretty good!
The first time I made a version of vegetarian paprikash, I actually used a fake chicken mock meat. This was back when I lived in Bangkok and a wide variety of mock meats were available. I had picked up a mock chicken product made by a Thai company and decided I was going to try making “chicken” paprikash.
I served it with noodles and thought it turned out fine, but my boyfriend was not a fan of the mock chicken. Though he eats vegetarian at home, he’s still a meat eater, so I suppose he doesn’t see the appeal of mock meats. I decided to try making a vegetable version instead.
Dumpling dough.
However, making an all-vegetable paprikash changes the nature of the dish from “thing in sauce” to “stew”. While a vegetable paprikash stew is something I’ll keep in my back pocket for a future recipe, that’s not what I wanted here. I still wanted something that was “thing in sauce”.
That’s when I had the idea to add dumplings. Chicken and dumplings is just chicken stew with dumplings on top, so why not try dumplings on another stewy dish? Since paprikash is usually served with a carb like noodles or potatoes, it made sense to me to have that carb be dumplings. I added caraway seeds to the dumplings because I love the combination of cabbage and caraway, and it just adds a little extra oomph.
Making the dough balls.
Notes on the ingredients:
Paprika: This is the star of the dish and Hungarian paprika is ideal, but I have used Moroccan paprika and enjoyed it. I think the most important thing is that your paprika is good and flavorful, and not some sad, old, bland paprika you found in the back of your cupboard.
Cabbage and mushrooms: I used regular old green cabbage and a mix of button mushrooms and cremini. I think it would be great with other mushroom varieties if you have a favorite!
Creme fraiche/sour cream: I use creme fraiche because that’s what’s available in Morocco. You can easily use sour cream instead.
Recipe:
Vegetarian Cabbage and Mushroom Paprikash with Caraway Dumplings
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cabbage.
- Cook the onions and cabbage until they are starting to get soft, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture.
- Add tomato paste and stir to combine with the vegetables. Cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the paprika and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Add the vegetable broth and stir again to combine. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
- When the paprikash has reduced to a thick, stew-like consistency, stir in the crème fraiche (or sour cream).
- While the paprikash is simmering, mix the dry dumpling ingredients together in a bowl. Then, add the wet ingredients and combine into a slightly shaggy dough ball.
- Roll the dough with your hand into 8-10 equal balls.
- After adding the creme fraiche to the paprikash, place the dough balls on top of the stew, leaving space between each one (they will expand when cooking).
- Cover the paprikash and let the dumplings cook for about 10 minutes.
